LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran is still in hiding
somewhere in Kilinochichi district and has not escaped to South India as
speculated, Tamil political sources said yesterday.

Amidst heightened military operations, Prabhakaran would
not be able to move about freely, as he used to do, the sources said.

"Prabhakaran believes he can achieve his goal of Eelam and
therefore would continue fighting till the end. As his sister said
recently, he would not abandon a mission once begun."

The LTTE has lost around 22,000 cadres since July 1983,
when it stepped up its struggle for a separate state. It is now left with
about 10,000 fighters, most of whom are concentrated in the Kilinochchi
district, the sources said.

The sources placed the number of Tamils under LTTE
control at around 250,000, the majority of whom are in the Mullaitivu
District.